Karma Dajani is a Lebanese-Dutch mathematician whose research interests include

ergodic theory Ergodic theory (Greek: ' "work", ' "way") is a branch of mathematics that studies statistical properties of deterministic dynamical systems; it is the study of ergodicity. In this context, statistical properties means properties which are expres ...

probability theory Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expressing it through a set o ...

, and their applications in

number theory Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic function, integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777� ...

. She is an associate professor of mathematics at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

Education and career

Dajani was born in Lebanon, and did her undergraduate studies at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

, initially in medicine but switching after a year to mathematics. Because of the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

, she and her family moved to the US, where she earned her Ph.D. in 1989 from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

. Again, she switched topics, beginning in

functional analysis Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure (e.g. Inner product space#Definition, inner product, Norm (mathematics)#Defini ...

and trying

graph theory In mathematics, graph theory is the study of ''graphs'', which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. A graph in this context is made up of '' vertices'' (also called ''nodes'' or ''points'') which are conne ...

but ending in

. Her dissertation, ''Simultaneous Recurrence of Weighted Cocycles'', was supervised by E. Arthur Robinson Jr., after a previous advisor, Daniel Ullman, shifted his own interests away from ergodic theory. As a student at George Washington University, Dajani was a two-time winner of the university's Taylor Prize in Mathematics. After completing her doctorate, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

and the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. She took a faculty position at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. After marrying a Dutch mathematician, Cor Kraaikamp, she obtained a visiting position at

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

and then joined Utrecht University. She spent 25 years as the only female mathematics professor at Utrecht.

Book

With her husband Cor Kraaikamp, Dajani is the author of the book ''Ergodic Theory of Numbers'', published in 2002 by the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure a ...

as volume 29 of their

Carus Mathematical Monographs The ''Carus Mathematical Monographs'' is a monograph series published by the Mathematical Association of America.Drake, Miriam A. (2003). ''Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science: Lib-Pub.'' CRC Press, Books in this series are intended t ...

. The book grew out of a course given by Dajani in a 1996 summer program for women in mathematics.

References

External links

Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dajani, Karma Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Lebanese academics Dutch mathematicians Women mathematicians American University of Beirut alumni George Washington University alumni University of Alabama faculty Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology Academic staff of Utrecht University